Eggs are really the perfect breakaway food: They cost very little, they keep well, they're endlessly adaptable to whatever else happens to be lying around the fridge, they're packed with protein yet have few calories (about 75 each), and -- best of all -- they taste good, especially when they're fresh and local. When they're really fresh, their plump, screaming orange yolks taste like cream, meat, fruit, nuts, and vegetable, all rolled into one perfect little package.
The poached egg is probably my favorite: I often use a dedicated egg poacher, but just as often I boil a few cups of water and add about a tablespoon of vinegar to the water; the extra acidity tends to keep the whites more intact.
A poached egg requires very little aside from some freshly ground peppercorns and some flavored salt. Plenty of flavored salts are available commercially, but try making one yourself by mixing coarse sea salt with dried herbs in a coffee grinder, and you will be pleasantly surprised. Or, you can get really creative and use unusual ingredients like kaffir lime leaves, smoked paprika, maccha (powdered green tea), and dried tangerines to make flavored salt. Poached eggs also take well to bottled hot sauces -- one of my favorite quick breakfasts.
If you have a little more time and energy, heat some butter in a nonstick pan, crack a few eggs into it, and add a few spoonfuls of plain Greek yogurt (or regular yogurt, provided you let it drain in a sieve or cheesecloth for half an hour to remove the excess moisture) and mix: The result will be creamier than you can imagine. Topping these eggs off with some chopped fresh herbs (tarragon works especially well) cranks up the flavor quotient yet another level.
Baked eggs are also a snap: Butter a ramekin or baking dish, add a little sauce of some kind (tomato-based sauces work well, as do herb-based sauces), crack a few eggs over it, and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the yolks barely set.
You can make Mexican baked eggs (use salsa as the base), Indian baked eggs (drizzle some bottled tamarind over them), Moroccan baked eggs (pomegranate molasses and cinnamon), Thai baked eggs (chiles and coconut milk)...the possibilities are endless. Use your breakaway creativity, and let me know about it!
16 Comments
LEAVE YOUR COMMENT
You must sign in to leave a comment